The finance ministers of Western nations have denounced Russia’s plan to invade on Ukraine at G20 talks in Indonesia on Friday, blaming Moscow officials of complicity in atrocities committed during the war.
The two-day meeting in Bali began under the shadow of a Russian military assault that has roiled markets, spiked food prices and stroked breakneck inflation, a week following Russia’s diplomat walking out of the negotiations with the forum’s foreign ministers.
As per Treasury official, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said to the Russian delegation in the opening session, “Russia is solely responsible for negative spillovers to the global economy. Russia’s officials should recognize that they are adding to the horrific consequences of this war via their continued backing of the Putin government. You share responsibility for the innocent lives which has been lost.”
She was joined by the finance minister of Canada, Chrystia Freeland, who said to Russia’s delegation they were responsible for “war crimes” in Ukraine due to their support for the invasion, a Canadian official said.
Freeland mentioned, “It is not only generals who execute the war crimes, it is the economic technocrats who permit the war to happen and to continue.”
The Finance minister of Russia, Anton Siluanov and the Finance minister of Ukraine, Serhiy Marchenko, are both taking part virtually in the meeting.